Trump to impose additional tariffs on Iran’s trading partners

President Trump announced plans to impose an additional tariff on any country doing business with Iran as tensions between the two nations run high and the U.S. weighs its military options.

Under the latest tariff, all of Iran’s trading partners will be required to pay an additional tax, known as an ad valorem, on any business conducted in the U.S. An ad valorem tariff is different from the traditional tariffs Mr. Trump has imposed because it is based on the monetary value of the goods being imported rather than a flat percentage.

“In my judgment, the [ad valorem] tariff regime … will more effectively deal with the national emergency [of Iran],” Mr. Trump wrote in an executive order directing the Treasury and Commerce departments to develop a list of the countries that are doing business with Iran.

The move follows Mr. Trump’s imposition last month of a 25% tariff on all goods imported into the U.S. from countries that do business with Iran.

China, Brazil, Turkey, India and Russia are Iran’s largest trading partners, combining for more than $10 billion in trade annually, according to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity. In 2023, Iran had the 36th-largest economy in the world, ranking 92nd in total exports, according to OEC data.

The latest tariff comes after the U.S. and Iran agreed to have follow-up discussions after indirect talks in Oman on Friday to address Tehran’s nuclear program.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened military action to compel Iran to abandon its nuclear program, which the regime insists is for peaceful purposes and not a nuclear weapon. The USS Abraham Lincoln and other warships have been deployed off the coast of Iran in the Arabian Sea.

Mr. Trump dispatched the carrier to the region over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protesters, killing thousands and resulting in tens of thousands of others being jailed in the Islamic republic.

U.S. forces shot down an Iranian drone near the Lincoln and Iran tried to stop a U.S. flagged ship in the Strait of Hormuz this week. Both actions occurred days before Friday’s talks started in Oman.